Self-contained liquid dispensing device



April 22, 1

M. c. scHwAB SELF-CONTAINED LIQUID DISPENSING DEVICE Filed March 29.1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 A ril 22, 1941. M. c. SCHWAB SELF-CONTAINED LIQUIDDISPENSING DEVICE Filed March 29, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet'Z Patented Apr.22, 1941 orricr.

SELF-CDN'EAINED LIQUED DISPENSING DEVICE Martin C. Schwab, Chicago, 111.Application March 29, 1938, Serial No. 198,724

2 Claims.

This invention relates to liquid dispensing devices and moreparticularly to devices for dispensing sterile liquids for subcutaneousor intravenous injections. In withdrawing liquids from containersgenerally, it is necessary that air be permitted to enter thecontainerto replace the liquid withdrawn, and in devices to be employedfor the purposes specifically herein pointed out, it is particularlyimportant that the air entering the container upon withdrawal of theliquid be filtered in order to prevent contamination of the sterilefluids within the container.

This application is a continuation in part of and an improvement uponthe construction disclosed in my copending application Serial No.

58,649, filed January 11, 1936, issued to Patent No. 2,156,313 on May 2,1939, for Dispensing and packaging devices for fluids.

In dispensing devices of this general type known to the art, it iscustomary to provide the air washing chamber in a cap removably mountedupon the top of the bottle. The object of the present invention is toprovide a selfcontained dispensing device in which the air filteringmeans is suspended within the liquid container, thereby eliminating theuse of a relatively expensive cap and the necessity for sterilizing thefiltering chamber immediately prior to dispensing of the fluid. Myimproved dispensing device may be delivered in a sealed package tohospitals or other users and the device immediately used without anyfurther sterilization of the accessory air washing media.

The invention contemplates the provision of an air washing chamberadapted to depend from a stopper inserted in the nozzle of the containerand further contemplates the use of a portion of the liquid to bedispensed as the media for Washing incoming air. Inasmuch as there arefrequently relatively wide variations between the temperature of thefluid when it is inserted in the container and the time when it isdispensed, resulting in expansion of the air washing fluid in itschamber by reason of these temperature changes, liquid, partially dirty.or contaminated, is not infrequently returned to the body of thecontainer and mixed with the clean or sterile liquid.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a device inwhich the air washing liquid will not be driven from the air washingchamber by reason of expansion due to temperature changes. All of theliquid used in the air washing step is permanently segregated from theliquid being dispensed.

A further object of the invention is the provision of apparatus of thetype described which is not subject to the probability of breakage ordestruction in transit or in preparation for use. Other objects of theinvention are to provide a device of the type described which may bereadily and easily employed and cheaply and readily assembled.

The invention will be readily understood from the following description,in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein certainpreferred-embodiments are shown, in which:

Fig. 1 is a broken vertical sectional view of a preferred embodiment;

Fig. 2, a horizontal sectional view taken along line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3, a broken vertical sectional view of a modified form of theinvention.

Referring generally to the drawings, it will be seen that in all of theviews the improved container and dispensing device are shown in theinverted position, and it is in this inverted position that all of thevarious embodiments illustrated operate.

Referring to the embodiment shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the referencecharacter D indicates a container provided with the conventional bodyportion 8, and a neck 9, which may be provided with external screws if!adapted to removably retain a screw cap (not shown). Where the containeris particularly to be used for dispensing fluids used in intravenous orsubcutaneous injections, such as blood for transfusion purposes,

physiological salt solutions, glucose solutions and other fluids in thefield of medicine, it is frequently desired that the entire assembly, incompletely sterile condition, be packaged at some central distributionpoint, to be used by the medical profession at isolated points wheremodern facilities are not available or in hospitals where it may bestored in readiness for prompt use. For usages of this nature, smallstoppers may be inserted in the outlets from the container hereinafterfully described, and the top of the assembly enclosed in a suitablescrew cap or provided with an adhesive seal. In such manner thecontainer may be employed as a package for the necessary fluids and thedispensing means to await the occasion for its need.

The neck of the container is provided with a stopper l I, preferably ofrubber and serving as a mount for the air filter assembly, and a fluidduct E2. The fluid duct I2 is provided with a beaded endv 13 extendingslightly below the bottom of the stopper H and an inner opening [4extending into the interior of the container D for a short distanceabove the stopper II. It will be understood that a tube (not shown)carrying a hypodermic needle and pinch means to prevent premature fiowof the liquid, may be readily applied over the beaded end I3 of theoutlet duct I2.

The air filtering assembly is of an integral construction depending fromthe neck of the container and is most suitable where the parts are madeof glass. Where the ducts or tubes comprising the assembly are made ofglass and the stopper I I of rubber, frictional engagement between thesemembers will be found to be sufiicient, It will be understood, however,that the parts may be of metal, plastics, such as Bakelite, hard rubberor glass, as may be deemed expeclient. When the stopper II is made ofrubber, a driving fit will be sufiicient to hold the stopper and theassembly depending therefrom within the interior of the neck 9 of thecontainer, but otherwise other fastening means may be employed to retainthe stopper I I within the interior of the neck 9.

The air filtering device comprises an elongated tube I5 and a shorter Utube I 5, The tube or duct I 5 is provided with a lower portion I 7 ofgreater diameter than the upper portion and is adapted to befrictionally seated in a cutout portion of the stopper ii. The upperportion of the tube extends substantially to the top of the container D,in its inverted position, and is provided adjacent its top with arelatively small orifice I8. The U tube I 6 is adapted to be disposedwithin the enlarged portion I? of the duct I5 and is spaced apart fromthe walls of said duct, forming an air washing chamber 2i between thetube I 6 and the lower portion of the tube 15. lShe U tube I6 comprisesa thin elongated air inlet 59, the lower section of which extendscompletely through acentrally disposed orifice in the stopper II, and abent over portion 20 of greater cross section than the portion I9 andparallel therewith. The portion 25 of the U tube It is preferably threeOr four times greater in diameter than is the other leg I9 of the U tubeand forms the enclosure for an expansion chamber 22. The portion 252terminates somewhat above the top of the stopper II,

The container is preferably filled with the desired liquid before thestopper and depending air filtering assembly are inserted in the neck ofthe bottle. In its upright position the container is filled to a pointjust below the neck of the bottle.

If desired and in case of refills, the container D may be filled afterthe stopper and assembly are inserted, by forcing fluid through the ductI2, the air within the container being displaced by entering the openingI8, passing through the filter chamber H, the expansion chamber 25 andout through the air inlet duct I9, t will be seen that the air filteringassembly may readily be removed for sterilizing and washing purposes byremoving the stopper II from the neck of the bottle.

When ready for use, a dispensing tub-e having pinch means is fitted overthe end I3 of the liquid duct I2 and the pinch means closed, to preventpremature flow of the liquid, before the bottle is inverted.

In the upright position of the container it will be apparent that fluidwill enter the tube i5 through the orifice i8 and will approximatelyseek its level in the air filter chamber ZI which will be at a surfaceslightly below the neck of the bottle. Accordingly, fluid will not enterinto 75 the expansion chamber 20 except for a few drops which may lapover, when the container is in its upright position and, accordingly,when the container is inverted, there will be no liquid available tofiow out of the duct I9 except possibly the aforementioned few drops.When the container is inverted, liquid from the tube I5 will enter theair filter chamber and the expansion chamber to approximately the levelindicated in Fig. 1, and serves as the filtering medium for the incomingair, The chamber 22 is of sufiicient diameter and length to prevent anypossibility of fluid siphoning out through the air inlet duct I9 priorto the fiow of liquid through the outlet duct I2. When the controllingmeans is removed on the tube connected to the outlet duct !2, a constantflow of liquid therethrough is assured by the admission of air throughthe air inlet duct Ill. The air pass-es downwardly through the expansionchamber 22 and, when suficient pressure is accumulated, will bubbledownwardly through the washing fluid in the bottom of the expansionchamber and up through the washing fluid in the chamber 2I, through theduct I 5 and out of the orifice I8 into the then top of the container D,entering the area vacated by the liquid, It will be seen that the airentering the bottle has been thoroughly cleansed of dust, lint or anyforeign matter in passing with considerable ebullition through thewashing liquid in the bottom of the expansion chamber 22 and the washingchamher 2 I.

By providing an area within the expansion chamber Zilconsiderably largerthan the area of the inlet duct I 6, the possibility of liquid beingsiphoned out through the duct I9 by reason of any increase oftemperature in the liquid contents of the bottle while in the invertedposition prior to use, is eliminated.

The embodiment illustrated in Fig. 3 is substantially the same as theconstruction illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, hereinbefore described, theonly difference being that in Fig. 3 the tube I5a does not extendsubstantially the length of the container but is terminated at anintermediate point therein. The operation of this embodiment issubstantially the same as that of Figs. 1 and 2, in that when liquid iswithdrawn from the container through the duct Ilia, room air enters -theinlet Isa, passes downwardly through the expansion chamber 22a andbubbles up through the filter chamber 2Ia, where it is thoroughlywashed, through the tube lea and its opening Ma, and the washed airbubbles up through the liquid contents of the container D.

In all of the embodiments, it will be understood that the size of thefluid outlet is related to the size of the air inlet, so that the rateof flow of liquid from the outlets will maintain a balanced condition,preventing the flow of fluid from the air filter or expansioncompartments when the assembly is inverted. A valve device such as shownin my Patent No. 2,099,083, issued November 16, 1937, may be employedupon the end of the air inlet duct.

While the novelty of the construction has been emphasized in the fieldof medicine, it will be understood that my improved device is notlimited to such use but that the dispensing device has a wide field ofutility, which will be readily under stood by those skilled in the art.

Having thus described my invention and illustrated its use, what I claimas new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: j

1. In combination with a container operable from said stopper withinsaid conduit, one legof said U tube communicating with said conduit andadapted to receive and return excess liquid; from and to said conduit,the other leg of said 10 U tube extending through said stopper andserving as an air inlet to said conduit.

2. In combination with a container operable upon inversion and having astopper in its neck, fluid dispensing and air washing means disposedwithin said container comprising a 1iquid outlet duct extending throughsaid stopper into said container, a fluid conduit depending from saidstopper extending substantially to the bottom of said container andhaving an opening at its lower end, said conduit having an enlargedportion at its upper end adapted to receive fluid from said container, aU tube depending from said stopper within said enlarged portion of saidconduit and spaced apart therefrom to form an air washing chamber, oneleg of said U tube being of enlarged diameter to form an expansionchamher for liquid from said air washing chamber and the other leg ofsaid U tube extending through said stopper and serving as an air inletfor said 15 air Washing chamber.

MARTIN C. SCHWAB.

